The invention relates to a joint for mechanically connecting, on the one hand, a scanner for symbol codes and, on the other, a processing device for processing the signals produced by the scanner.
In practice, scanners for symbol codes are known which are accommodated with their respective processing device in one housing. For many applications, for example for reading bar codes, the scanner has to be held in the hand and always has to be directed at the codes to be scanned. The combination of the scanner and the processing device in one housing has the disadvantage that the whole unit always has to be moved in order to direct the scanner at the codes. Scanners in which the processing device is accommodated in a separate housing, and in which the signals produced by the scanner are transmitted to the processing device by means of a cable, are also known in practice. This arrangement does, however, have the disadvantage that always a second separate unit, namely the processing device, has to be carried.
The same problem is encountered in the case of readers for symbol codes which are provided with an array of photosensitive elements, in particular if a linear array is used. In the case of such readers the array always has to be directed towards the code in order to read it. The combination of the reader and the corresponding processing device in one housing, or in two separate housings, also entails the above-mentioned disadvantages. The term "reader" can therefore also be substituted for "scanner" in the text below.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,939,356 discloses a bar code scanner having a scanner head at the end of a flexible mount, which allows the scanner head to be pointed in the desired direction. The mount may comprise a goose neck type support or may comprise a series of pivots or hinges. It is, however, difficult to exactly achieve and maintain a specific orientation by means of a goose neck type support, while a series of pivots or hinges, the exact structure of which is not disclosed in said U.S. patent, will not maintain the orientation of the scanner head.